Addition of 1,3-β-D-glucan to chitosan-based composites enhances osteoblast adhesion, growth, and proliferation

The aim of this work was to prove using two osteoblastic cell lines that addition of bacterial 1,3-β-D-glucan to chitosan-based biocomposites significantly enhances adhesion, growth, and proliferation of osteoblast cells. Cytotoxicity of materials was evaluated indirectly using fluid extracts and by direct-contact method using live/dead double fluorescent staining. Cell adhesion was determined quantitatively by LDH total test and cell proliferation was assessed by confocal microscope observation. Obtained data clearly prove that addition of 1,3-β-D-glucan to the bi-component chitosan/bioceramic materials significantly enhances adhesion, growth, and proliferation of osteoblast cells. The results demonstrated that all investigated biomaterials were non-toxic and allowed for cell attachment. However, significantly better osteoblast growth was observed on scaffolds containing 1,3-β-D-glucan. Thus, it may be inferred that scaffolds modified with glucan are more promising materials for bone tissue engineering application than bi-component chitosan/bioceramic composites.